The religious views of Judaism and Christianity always valued historicity. The theological reflection and social proposals of Christianity seek to articulate time and eternity, history and scathology, incorporating and developing notions of tradition, utopia and reform. In this sense, the return to the sources, the search for new forms of mediation in the relationship between religion and society, ethics and politics, thought and action, are constant in the history of Christianity. The centrality of the religious reforms movement in modernity shows it very clearly, thus contributing to the development of various forms of Christian confessionality.

The search for links and forms of articulation between religious reform and social reformism before and after the Reformation era emerges as the central topic of this colloquium, open to communications on the various historical periods. Three lectures and three panels for papers’ presentations are programmed. The CFP this time is limited to the CIHEC Bureau members only.

- Jeffrey Cox (University of Iowa): On Reconsidering the Usefulness of the Word “Indigenous”: Christian Encounters in Contact Zones

- R.N.Swanson (University of Birmingham, Member of the Bureau of CIHEC): Indigenisation and the longue durée: The English Medieval Experience

- Ronnie Po-chia Hsia (Pennsylvania State University): Indigenisation or Domestication? Christianity's Encounter with Buddhism and Popular Religion in Late Imperial China

- Kjell Lejon (Linköping University): The Role of the Church in Making a Neighbouring Enemy a Loyal Citizen. How Danes were turned into Swedes after the Peace Treaty in 1658: An Example of “Pseudo-Indigenisation” of Fellow Lutherans

CIHEC Annual General Meeting in Stockholm, 11-12 June 2015

The conference is organised in cooperation with the The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities (http://www.vitterhetsakad.se/om), in their house on Villagatan 3 in Stockholm on June 11-12 (11-13 for the Bureau).

It will start with lunch on June 11, and end in the afternoon of June 12. The Bureau meeting will end with lunch on June 13.

The abstracts should be clear in terms of methodology (and the use of sources), as well as on its location within the field of Church History or Church Polity. The papers should be based on thorough research. The focus on one of the themes should be at the heart of all the papers.

Abstract relevant to the theme and sub-themes must reach the secretary not later than 2 March, 2015. The contributions must be based on original work. The Society cannot guarantee that all abstracts will be accepted. Authors are encouraged to send their abstracts promptly. Please send your abstracts to the following e-mail address: olivee@unisa.ac.za for attention of the Secretary, Erna Oliver.

On Monday 30 November 1215 in the Basilica of St John Lateran, Innocent III brought the first assembly of the whole Church since the Council of Chalcedon (451) to a rousing finale by summoning all the delegates to unite in faith and by issuing AdLiberandum, an encyclical calling for a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. This Council, fourth in the Lateran series but the twelfth ecumenical gathering of the Church in the Western tradition, included the five patriarchs or their representatives, together with more than one thousand bishops, abbots and other dignitaries, both ecclesiastical and secular. At each of the three plenary sessions held on 11, 20 and 30 November respectively, Innocent preached a set-piece sermon whilst, behind the scenes, delegates debated such major issues as who was more worthy to lead the Empire and how to contain the Albigensian heresy.

The accounts of eyewitnesses reveal that Innocent’s consecration of Santa Maria in Trastevere and celebrations for the anniversary of the dedication of the Vatican Basilica served not only to emphasize the history, majesty and ritual of the Church but also offered a welcome respite from the intensive discussions in the Lateran Palace. The Fathers of the Council promulgated seventy decrees, covering topics as diverse as heresy, Jewish-Christian relations, pastoral care and Trinitarian theology as well as ecclesiastical governance. Monks and secular clergy were to be reformed, the nascent mendicant orders welcomed to the Church and diocesan bishops instructed to implement far-reaching conciliar decisions across Christendom.

Eight hundred years on, Lateran IV still stands as the high-water mark of the medieval papacy, its political and ecclesiastical decisions enduring down to the Council of Trent whilst modern historiography has deemed it the most significant papal assembly of the Later Middle Ages. In November 2015, we have a unique opportunity to re-evaluate the role of this Council in the reform of the universal Church. Taking an inter-disciplinary approach, we shall investigate how its decisions affected the intellectual, cultural, social and religious life of the medieval world. We particularly encourage individual papers from disciplines such as art history, theology, canon law, crusade studies and literature, as well as from those who work on relations between Jews and Christians, which we hope will broaden current interpretations of the events of the Council, their subsequent importance and long-term impact. Alternatively, three-paper session proposals on a common theme will also be most welcome. Papers may be delivered in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish but must be limited to 30 minutes. Abstracts of no more than 200 words with all the necessary contact details should be sent no later than 1 November 2014 to

The history of many European cities was shaped by the figure of a bishop whose ties to the city had both spiritual and more tangible secular consequences. The topography of the city, its economy, its institutions, its liturgy, its reputation as well as its citizens’ sense of civic pride could be shaped by and were dependent upon his association with the city. Bishops and lay élites could not remain passive observers in the central decades of the 11th century, during the major ecclesiastical reform that changed the regular and diocesan environments in the Latin West. Their active involvement in the religious renewal was confirmed in the first place by the flourishing of the new foundations ranging from the great urban abbeys to minor churches and hospices promoted by the pious bishops, influential intellectuals and rich merchants.

During the papal legate’s visit to Dalmatia in 1062 Benedictine monk John from St Peter’s abbey in Osor was elected to succeed the deceased bishop of Trogir and to promote the reform movement. In 1064, helped by the noble citizens of Trogir, Bishop John founded the first Benedictine nunnery in Dalmatia on the site of the early medieval church of St Doimus close to the southern city gate. One of the major civic ecclesiastical institution, the still active de clausura nunnery of St Nicholas survived the extinction of two nunneries founded somewhat later, and that of the major male abbey of St John the Baptist.

The aim of this conference is to gain clearer understanding of the construction, enhancement and expression of episcopal office in relation to the religious communities, the impact on religious, political and cultural practice and institutions at local level in the Mediterranean, Central, Western and Northern Europe.

We welcome contributions dealing with aspects of the bishop’s activities and interactions at a local level in different parts of Europe. Potential topics include relationships between a bishop and representatives of religious communities (preferably Benedictine female, but other orders are not excluded); successful careers of bishops who came from/or retired to a religious community, or bishops who founded/reformed a religious house/order, role of religious communities in the urban settlements in history, history of art, architecture, canon law and episcopal jurisdiction from the Middle Ages to the present. Please send abstracts of no more than 300 words for papers, in English, of approximately twenty minutes in length to: Jadranka Neralic (neralic@yahoo.it)

Deadline for Submissions: 28 February 2014

CIHEC in China: Jinan, August 2015The five-yearly international historical conference organised by CISH (Comité international des sciences historiques/International Committee for Historical Sciences) will be held at Jinan, China, in August 2015. Preliminary information and calls for papers for the main sessions can be found atwww.cish.org/congres/congres_2015.htm<http://www.cish.org/congres/congres_2015.htm>. The deadline for submission is 30th September. Several of the sessions have potential for accommodating papers by ecclesiastical historians, and historans of Christianity and other religions.As usual, CIHEC is organising a series of three half-day sessions alongside the main conference, with a focus on aspects of ecclesiastical history. The selected themes are: * Indigenization of Christianity * Science and Religion * Migration of Religious IdeasThe formal call for papers for these sessions appears below. As these sessions are organised independently of the main CISH proceedings, the deadline will not be 30 September, but 15 January 2014.

Commission Internationale d’Histoire et d’Études du Christianisme

XXII Congress of Historical Sciences

JINAN (China) 27-28 August 2015

CIHEC announces a Call for Papers for its three sessions in connection with the CISH World Conference in Jinan, China, in August 2015. The themes of the sessions are as follows:

1. Indigenisation

From its earliest location around the Mediterranean, Christianity has spread during its two--‐ thousand--‐year history to each of the world’s continents. At some times, Christian missionaries have been assisted by political power or even direct military force and, at others the faith has been propagated by entirely peaceful means. In either case, missionaries and converts have faced the task of presenting Christianity in languages and with arguments that make sense to local people and of considering how far forms of worship and even ethical norms can be adapted to local cultures. A key question in such situations has always been the relationship of Christianity to previously dominant religious traditions, and the answers have ranged widely from the extremes of confrontation or adaptation, to the many variations in between. Some examples of such problems and solutions are well--‐known, as for instance with the Jesuits in seventeenth--‐century China or the Celtic and Roman missions to Anglo--‐Saxon England. Equally well known are the ‘independent’ churches of nineteenth--‐ and twentieth--‐century Africa and Asia which aimed to present a more authentically indigenous form of Christianity than that available in the ‘mission churches’. But even in countries with a centuries--‐long Christian history there have been attempts to construct a Christianity that would be more genuinely ‘of the people’. This was one of the objectives of the sixteenth--‐century Reformers, and, to take a particularly controversial twentieth--‐century example, it was also one of the aims of the so--‐called ‘German Christians’ in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. As with this latter example, indigenization has sometimes gone so far that hostile observers have asked whether the results are any longer Christian. But one can also speak of an unconscious indigenization. In many overtly Christian- ‐dominated societies, there have been critics, both inside and outside, who have accused the church of being too much at home in its environment. This session aims to look at all of these various forms of ‘indigenisation’.

We invite proposals relating to any period of Christian history and any region of the world. Comparative studies will be especially welcome.

2. Science and Religion

Connections between Science and Religion are numerous throughout Christian history. This session aims to explore three of these:

• Christianity in favour of science. Since the earliest period, Christians have embraced a relationship with science. Most of the Church Fathers were interested in aspects of medicine, cosmography, zoology, history and botany. Science not only played an important place in the ratiostudiorum, both in the Carolingian schools and the Jesuit universities but also today in the Catholic or Protestant universities. As long as science does not appear to be a danger for the faith, everything moves along smoothly. On the other hand, if science is seen to threaten the dogmas of Christianity, a Christian ‘science’ which we may term ‘concordism’ comes into being, in which science must prove the reality of the faith. This theme will include the study of these various aspects, from the reception of ancient Arabic and Asian science to the institutionalisation of science as a part of Christian knowledge, and the desire to exploit the role of science in assisting the faith.

• Christianity against science. When scientific data appears to contradict the faith, the churches have often condemned scientists or science. Examples include the acceptance of Aristotelian concepts by many Christians, the trial of Galileo and the difficulties experienced in admitting to a scientific exegesis. In this section, the discussion will focus on why and how the churches were opposed to scientists, even if these scientists were Christians, and whether or not differences existed between churches on this topic.

• The use of science by Christianity. In Asia, Jesuits used science in order to convert people to Christianity. Therefore science became a means to missionary work. In Europe too, science is used by apologetics to show the superiority of Christianity to other religions or to atheism. Many other examples could surely be found. It will be rewarding to study this distinctive use of science.

3. Migration of Religious Ideas

The migration of religious ideas touches upon a fundamental historical process. How and why, when and where do understandings of the sacred circulate? The principal analytical approaches focus on vectors, reception, interaction and transformation. Migrations of religious views are the most readily apparent aspect, via the endless peregrinations of people, determined missionary activity, forceful coercion, trading and commercial contacts, and the broad range of textual media. Issues of reception are vital. External beliefs and related practices can be readily incorporated into new environments, but also steadfastly rejected. What makes some “foreign” notions attractive and acceptable, but others dangerous and threatening? At the interface of indigenous and alien, what are the processes of selection and accommodation? How do religious ideas blend --‐ or fail to do so? Do some dominate to the exclusion of others? Finally, how does the migration of religious ideas also transform them? Is it merely a question of movement between cultures? How far is the transformative process an inevitable blending of different religious understandings? How does even resistance to change act, in reality, to modify religious notions?

These brief comments only begin to address the many and complex issues, yet suggest the possibilities for analysis and discussion.

The deadline for the proposals is 15 January 2014. Each session will comprise 5–6 papers at 15 minutes each. CIHEC, founded in 1952, is the international organisation of historians of Christianity, and is affiliated to CISH--‐ICHS – the International Committee of Historical Sciences. CIHEC comprises thirty--‐two national commissions.More: http://www.cihec.org